The Sentry of the Rose
by brindle2
Summary: A few chapters to explore what happened between the Beast's transformation and the movie's final ballroom scene. We will discuss: how did Belle and Maurice land in that little town? Doesn't Adam have any relatives? What does a post-French-Revolution nobleman do with himself anyway? And... Is Gaston really dead? Rated T out of an overabundance of caution.
1. Chapter 1

Amid the embraces, laughter, and dancing on the tower with rediscovered arms, legs, and faces, Cogsworth drew himself up to his full five feet and one inch for the first time in a decade and proclaimed, "This instant! We must prepare a feast for our master!"

"No, a feast for ALL!" corrected their newly human master, to great cheers, save for Cogsworth, who groaned, "Well, first, sir, if you insist on making this semi-public, you need at least a decent dressing gown over those rags, I must locate one..." He jogged off , distractedly creating a to-do list.

All the servants ran to their posts, energized by the prospect of a celebration. Belle began to drag Beast (who no longer looked at all beastly) inside. "We must find Papa too, oh, he'll be so excited!"

He grinned and suddenly stopped. "Yes!... uh, actually... well..."

"Come on, he's seen everything change round him, he must be wondering, and he'll be very happy to meet you!"

"But... that's just it! He HAS met me! And I threw him in a dungeon for three days to mark the occasion."

"Oh, things were very different then. I told him all about you; he came here with me to help you, after all!"

"Still, we should do this maybe a little more slowly?"

"Are you afraid of him? Because..."

"Afraid! I'm not afraid! Afraid!" He crossed his arms and scowled fiercely.

"You'll see, he's really quite understanding and... open-minded," said Belle soothingly. But in her mind she regarded his pout with a silent laugh and joyously thought "It really, truly IS him!" She smiled and pulled her love into the tower and down the stair.


	2. Chapter 2

The base of the six-storey tower on the north corner of the chateau, three stories below the drawbridge, was surrounded by jagged boulders left over from the building's construction a hundred years previous. A broken body sprawled across the rocks, in contrast to the songs of the birds, frogs, and insects serenading the sudden arrival of spring. Little light filtered down to that spot, yet just a few feet away there was a shimmer and glow in the greenery. Tendrils of light emanated from the glow and curled round the body, picking it up, slowly and tentatively moving it about, and then suddenly enveloping it completely for a good two minutes, as though the light was working on a complex task. Finally, the beams heavily released the body to the ground just away from the boulders. But in the place of the grievously injured man was a large wolf.

The tendrils retreated back in to the glow, which gathered and shaped itself into a colorfully robed and very weary Enchantress. "Get up, Gaston," she commanded.

The wolf rubbed his head with his paw and uncertainly pulled himself up to a sitting position. He blinked and stared at his forepaws, and started to breathe fast. "What in the HELL has happened to my fingers?... Where are my... Why ... No... NOOOO!" He shocked himself with a howl and his cry diminished to a whimper.

"You must listen to me, Gaston." Gaston the wolf turned and yelped at the sight of the Enchantress. "Today you returned vengeance for mercy."

"I couldn't very well leave Belle in the clutches of that monster!" Gaston stammered. He realized the noises coming out of his throat were nothing resembling French or any other human tongue.

"Belle knew her mind. Were you fearful for Belle or angry for your loss?"

"She would have been better off without... or really, with... Did you SEE him?"

"Indeed, I am responsible for the enchantment that turned a selfish young man into a beast, that he might one day learn to be truly human. I only wish I could do the same for you."

"WHAT?" Gaston snarled. " You mean you helped that THING and you can't help me? Why not?"

"Your need of magic assistance was greater, it is true. Adam's crime was of neglect; yours of active destruction. I would have liked to properly enchant you , since enchantments can be broken, but you were too badly injured and too close to death. To save your life I needed to act quickly, to fully transform you. This will be your form for the rest of your life."

"This!" snorted Gaston with contempt. "I'm some kind of dog or..."

"Wolf," corrected the Enchantress.

"Only a slight improvement over dog!" Gaston snapped. The Enchantress sighed as he began to pace angrily. "You'd have done better to let me die!"

"And would you have done better to take the burden of your actions to your Maker?" Gaston stopped in his tracks and stared at her. "Even an enchantress has limits, Gaston. I have only been able to buy you time. What you do with the rest of the life you have is up to you. I will watch over you the best I can, but from here on you must save yourself. Think about what has gone before and what is to come." The air around the Enchantress began to shimmer. "It will be hard, but you have what you need to succeed." The Enchantress was rapidly fading from view. "Heaven bless you, Gaston, and use your blessings well."

And Gaston was alone in the woods by the chateau, still seething, growling, "This is what you call a blessing, witch?" He worked very hard to quiet the part of his mind that started to consider that she may be right.


	3. Chapter 3

Maurice knew he was in a venue actively under a magic spell, but he was still impressed with the the sudden, well, jollification of the building. All of the walls were suddenly whitewashed, sunlight poured in the windows, and he was knocked halfway down the stairway by a fresh new carpet unfurling beneath his feet.

Splitting up to find the tower entrance seemed like a good idea when he and Belle arrived at the chateau. Now Maurice wished he had that clever mirror to find Belle. He was sure the changes were a good omen, and he wanted to reassure her.

He started to look for her but was distracted by an interesting candelabra on a windowsill. There were no candles in it, but as a scientist he could see that the heat from the flames was meant to turn a finned wheel at the top of the construction that would animate a little carved and painted scene of, let's see... oh, dear... of a shirtless youth chasing a maid wearing only a shift chasing a shirtless youth chasing a maid wearing only a shift chasing round and round... Maurice blushed and looked for less suggestive scientific curiosities.

"Papa! Are you here?"

Maurice looked round. "Belle, are you all right? The most curious things have just happened!"

Belle ran round the corner towing a young man who looked like he'd been in a fight (of course they all had). Maurice guessed from the fellow's strong brow, wide eyes, and prominent nose that the Beast may have been run over by the recent jollification as well.

"Yes, and everything is going to be all right now! I'd like you to meet... Well, I can't call you Beast anymore, it doesn't quite fit!"

The young man finally broke into a smile. "I suppose not." He bowed to Maurice. "Adam Saint-Lazare, Vicomte de Boisvert, at your service, Monsieur." And then he straightened, looked off a bit astonished, and at the top of his lungs shouted, "I AM ADAM DE BOISVERT!... I haven't been able to say my own name for ten years!"

"Well, my lord, may I say how happy I am for you that things have resolved for the good for you." Maurice reached out his hand to shake Adam's.

Adam's giddiness evaporated as he took Maurice's hand. "Monsieur, I wish to apologize deeply for the terrible way I treated you at our meeting last autumn. Instead of offering hospitality I only looked for someone to blame for my ills."

"Oh, that's quite all right, you weren't yourself!" Maurice winked.

Adam turned away, ashamed. "That's just it. Maybe I was. Outwardly, I am changed. Inwardly, I like to think I am wiser, but I don't feel that different."

"Oh, don't worry, you are!" Belle put her hand on Adam's arm and looked earnestly in his eyes. "I've seen it, clear as day, over the last few months. The Beast I met in the autumn would never have tried new things, let me go find Papa, shown mercy to Gaston, even..."

"Gaston?" Adam was puzzled for a moment but put the pieces together rapidly. "Who is... the man on the roof... and then he struck me again... did I hear him fall...?" Adam's stare wandered from Belle. He seemed to be wrestling with an idea. Then with determination he wheeled round and called out, "Lumiere! Lumiere! I need your help!" He spun back to Belle and Maurice. "He left the mirror in my parlor. I don't know if it will work any more, but let's bring it. He must be near the bottom of the north tower. We need to find him and see what we can do. He may very well be beyond help, but we should take the chance."

Lumiere had arrived well before Adam was finished speaking. "But Master, he fell quite a long way down from the top of the tower, and after all, he nearly succeeded in killing you."

"Adam the beast would let matters take their course. Adam the man will do his best to repair. Quickly now!"

"Quickly is my forte!" Lumiere called, dashing down the hall toward the north tower, with Belle and Maurice struggling to keep up.

Adam hung back a moment. Out of the corner of his eye, on the windowsill, he had seen that blasted bawdy carousel full of carousers one of his old drinking companions had brought him from Germany. A fine thing to be seen by one's sweetheart's father! Cringing, hoping Maurice had missed it, he opened the sash and tipped the carousel out the window. Only when he was reassured by the splintering sound in the courtyard did he turn and run after Lumiere and the others.


	4. Chapter 4

What Gaston really wanted right now was a beer. What he would have preferred was a keg of beer, enough to give him a good night's sleep on the off chance that he could awake and find this was all a dream. He thought of LeFou. That idiot was certainly pliant enough that Gaston could find a way to get through to him about his real identity, and maybe get back into his tavern. He climbed the embankment to see how the fight was going. The Enchantress implied that the Beast... what did she call him, Adam?... had lived, but maybe one of Gaston's men had since finished him off.

Gaston hauled himself up over the ledge on the forest side of the drawbridge and saw absolutely no one. He heard nothing except more wretched birds. He looked at the chateau and wondered if it was a trick of the light that it looked a lot less dingy now.

The path was littered with tracks so obvious that an apprentice shepherd could follow them. Gaston had always been an excellent tracker, and now with a wolf's sense of hearing and smell it was so easy it was almost unfair. He wondered if they had looted the chateau and left, but the disarray and the running gaits concerned him. He sprinted down the path, finding he could sprint for quite a long time, until the path went past the edge of a cliff.

Gaston climbed out to the cliff and peered down. There was town in the distance, and there at the foot of the mountain, just at the entrance to the forest, were Gaston's men, sure enough running for home like a bear was pursuing them. "Cowards," snarled Gaston. "I was the one who faced the Beast. Maybe I should go after them like this; it would serve them right." But his stomach started to growl and he considered that he had eaten nothing since dinner the previous evening. "Time for a hunt!" The idea of hunting as a wolf at once seemed appealing. "Let's see what this creature can do!"

There was an odd lack of animals around. Gaston had hoped to find a deer, but after an hour when he picked up the scent of rabbit, he was willing to settle. It took another half hour to find the rabbit, who was obviously better rested and better fed than he, and another quarter hour to finally run it down and break its neck. But he was prouder of this catch than any trophy hanging on the wall in his tavern.

As the sun set and the forest once again cloaked itself in darkness, Gaston lay down before the carcass to enjoy the meal. His pride distracted him from the scent of wolf rapidly growing nearer, until the scent barged into his mouth as he prepared to take his first bite. He coughed and looked up to see a dozen yellow eyes in the darkness, fixed on him.

"Well well well," growled a pair of eyes. "Looky here. New guy."


	5. Chapter 5

On the fourth blow, the unused door at the base of the tower finally opened part way. Adam and his companions squeezed out into the boulder field and scattered about, searching for Gaston. Belle hung back a bit and finally said, "If he is alive when we find him, I don't know what I'll do. You may have to hold me back to keep me from killing him."

"Aha!" said Adam, "Now who's nervous about a meeting?"

"It's completely different!" retorted Belle.

"Awkward for different reasons but still awkward!" countered Adam.

"Ah, the magnificent variety of human interaction!" cut in Lumiere VERY loudly. "So full of unpredictability, wonder, mystery! And speaking of mysteries, let us concentrate on finding the man we seek, please!"

Adam sighed. "It's a shame the mirror doesn't work any more."

Maurice stopped and looked at Adam severely. "Really! Are you certain?"

"Papa, you saw yourself," said Belle, "Adam asked to see Gaston three times and nothing happened."

Maurice put his hands on his hips. "Youngsters! Think! All that tells us is that the mirror can't show us Gaston! Nothing about why! Perhaps the mirror is no longer enchanted OR it cannot show us the deceased OR the enchantment has somehow changed OR any number of things. Now Belle, what do we construct from an observation?"

Belle sighed and smiled a bit. "A hypothesis."

"And what do we do with the hypothesis?"

Belle had caught up with Maurice and was starting to work ahead. "We test it."

"And with the results of the test we..." led Maurice.

"...Make more observations, revise the hypothesis, and so on!"

"It appears, my dear, that you are formulating a hypothesis."

"... That we cannot see Gaston, but perhaps we can see other people in the mirror!"

"Brava!"

"May I, Adam?"

"Sure." Adam, still a step or two behind in the process, handed Belle the mirror.

Belle raised the mirror and looked at her own reflection. "Mirror! Please show me... LeFou!" Her image immediately faded.

"LeWho?" said Lumiere as the mirror glowed.

"Gaston's best friend... or henchman... or servant, really, whether he knew it or not."

The image reformed at the crossroads where the road went into the forest and up the mountain. The four crowded around the mirror to see LeFou and Charbon the blacksmith, both men of substantial girth, jogging out of the forest. "Ah, HIM," sniffed Lumiere.

"Hey, slow down, LeFou, I don't think there's anyone- (gasp) anyTHING behind us," panted Charbon.

"You make sure and let me know!" LeFou continued jogging.

"Come on, I swear it!" LeFou slowed to a walk. Charbon caught up. "Where's Gaston?"

"Dunno and I don't care! (gasp) Clever all right! So damn clever (puff) he gets me to do his dirty work! (wheeze) That's it, that's it! (hack) Next time I see him I tell him (gasp) to find another friend to get in trouble. (koff) Done, I tell you! (whoo)"

"Fine, I'll be interested to see if you go through with that."

LeFou growled, took a swing at the much taller Charbon, missed by a mile, spun about, and landed on his face, swearing. Charbon helped him up. "Come on, I've got a key to Gaston's tavern. He owes us a couple drinks. We'll wait for him there."

Belle angled the mirror down and the image disappeared. She carefully placed it on a flat boulder.

Maurice was the teacher of yore again. "And now, my children, what have we learned?"

"That the mirror works," offered Adam.

"That Gaston is neither here nor with LeFou," added Belle.

"That it is a useful thing to be able to run at least two miles without stopping," posited Lumiere.

"Good, although a bit off topic on the last one. Hypotheses about Gaston?"

"He died and his body was carried off by the wolves?" shuddered Belle.

Lumiere was incredulous. "Up this bank? In less than an hour?"

"He survived and wandered off?" asked Adam.

"Also unlikely and also not impossible," observed Maurice. "We have all seen, and been a part of," (here he bowed to Adam and Lumiere) "some wonders of late. Now if the mirror works, that means there is still some enchantment about. Also, if the mirror works, it would have detected the live Gaston. So, either Gaston is indeed deceased, or..." He stopped and looked expectantly at his pupils.

"Or! Or what?" cried Adam.

"Or what? Or what, Monsieur Beast, Monsieur Candelabra?" Maurice hinted.

Adam was wondering whether to be insulted that Maurice called him Beast when it hit him. "Or... Gaston could have taken on another form!" Maurice's broad grin told him he was correct.

"Well done, cher Professeur!"

They all jumped and looked toward the mirror, where the voice seemed to come from. It was wildly glowing in many colors. Adam and Lumiere recognized the voice. Adam scrambled over the rocks and picked up the mirror. The face of the Enchantress was in the glass. "Gaston lives, but he is no longer the man you know as Gaston. He is well, and you must not try to find him. Do you understand?"

The others had crowded round. Belle said, "Who is that?" But when Adam responded to the mirror with a somewhat awed "Yes, my lady," she held her tongue.

The Enchantress continued. "We all know what he has done, and what the result was. Saving his life was very difficult, and had certain... implications, but it worked. He now faces the task of making amends, which will occupy the rest of his life. Perhaps your paths will cross." She smiled. "Maybe it's not a bad thing to approach everyone as someone working on a penance, it may make you more tender to them." Adam blushed at the reference to his temper. "I think now that I may go on a little holiday, not too far or too long, mind you, but to give myself a rest and you all a chance to get back to normal. The mirror, however, will remain enchanted for you... and your heirs." She smiled slyly at Belle, who also blushed. "Use it intelligently." The glass gave off a blinding flash to reveal the reflection of four dumbstruck faces staring into it.

"Never mind," said Belle quietly, "I figured out who she is."

They all turned silently back to the chateau, Adam and Belle holding each other closely.


	6. Chapter 6

Gaston stood up and looked at the eyes glowing in the gloom. "Good evening." He knew the importance of not showing fear, but felt his heart pound so hard he worried they could hear it.

"New guy says good evening," said one of the pairs of eyes.

"Oh it is, it is!" A very large and scarred-up old wolf stepped forward. "New guy's brought us a snack!" He eyed Gaston's rabbit.

"Well, that one's mine, but I'd be happy..."

The other wolves stepped forward.

"Sorry, I thought you said that was yours." The big grizzled wolf was barely a foot from Gaston. "You caught it where?"

"Up there by the rotting stump"

"By the rotting stump!" echoed the smallest wolf, and made a very unpleasant approximation of a laugh, even for a wolf.

Grizzle looked up the hill. "Yep, definitely pack territory, and therefore, property of the pack." While he held Gaston's gaze with his eyes, his front paw neatly flipped the rabbit behind him into the midst of the other wolves who were ready to tear it up. "DON'T... " The pack froze. "... touch it 'til I say so." He'd never even turned around. He paced all the way around Gaston, who continued to hold his head high and return their stares (no choice, really). "Can't help but think you look familiar."

"He looks like Legbone, that loner we chased off yesterday," volunteered one wolf.

"Yeah, but he's taller, and a lot less hang-dog," said another.

"And he's got that big dark smudge on his haunch," said a third.

Gaston quickly glanced behind him. His fur was light-colored, but there was some sort of black marking on his right hip. He did not dwell on it, though, because he didn't feel safe diverting his attention from the pack.

"Sit in something by mistake?" laughed the short wolf. The others chimed in.

"Or roll in something nice and smelly?"

"Like a puppy?"

"Pretty big puppy, you ask me." More ugly laughter.

Gaston started to tremble despite himself. Grizzle grinned. "Now listen here, PUP." He barked right in Gaston's ear. "Not sure what kind of manners they taught you where you're from, but around here you don't go stealing prey from another pack's land. And don't try any of that attitude thing. We've schooled bigger and better than you on that. Men! Bears! Eagles!"

"And that fat ugly Beast!" yapped Shorty. "'Til last autumn, anyway, don't know what finally gave him the... gumption..."

The other wolves had been hissing at Shorty to shut up. Grizzle's full attention was now on him. He cowered as Grizzle walked toward him.

"We will not discuss him until I say so," Grizzle snarled. "He killed my best lieutenant and my eldest daughter in that fight, so the right to discuss that is mine... alone."

"Do you want revenge?" Gaston asked casually.

Grizzle looked back at him. "You're treading on thin ice, pup."

"I've met the Beast. I've... studied him. I know where he lives. He has weaknesses. I think I could be of use to you."

"We've all met him. I MIGHT be interested if you come back, say, tomorrow, with something helpful instead of a lot of bragging. That is what gets rewarded here." Grizzle strode over to the rabbit, bit a morsel out of the hindquarter, then neatly tore it apart, distributing the bits to the pack... except Shorty.

"Boss? I didn't get anything to eat yesterday either."

"That's 'cause you were stupid yesterday too!" Grizzle boxed Shorty's face, sending him tumbling. Then he looked at Gaston, who was obviously drooling. "You want food around here, you earn it, so give me results, pup, or SHOVE OFF!" He leapt onto Gaston and snapped at his shoulder.

Gaston was caught completely off guard and rolled down the hill. He got up, saw the five wolves assembled against him on the knoll, with Shorty peering quizzically from behind, and tore off toward the chateau.


	7. Chapter 7

Adam suggested that they retreat to the parlor to talk. On the way, Cogsworth found them, bundled Adam into a silk dressing gown, dragged a comb through his hair, and tied the hair back with a thin black ribbon. "You have guests, and you are... left arm, please!... going to be the host of a...ooooffeast... so... do stand still sir, please!... you need to look... presentable!" He stood back in triumph at the minor feat. Adam glared at him, but he nudged back and quietly motioned to Belle, who was staring in appreciation despite herself. "At your service, sir." He turned away down the hall and bellowed, "LINENS! You are LATE!" on his way to the dining room.

When they reached the parlor, they found, as always, only one chair.

Adam squirmed. "Oh. Sorry. Uh, maybe we can..."

"Never fear, Master Adam, I have just the remedy!" proclaimed Lumiere. "Chip, my strong young man, put down those tablecloths and give me a hand!" The man and the boy disappeared around the corner and trotted back into view in just a few seconds, carrying a short, light couch between them. They placed the couch at an angle to the Beast's chair and the fire.

Adam regarded the couch, then regarded Lumiere. "Loveseat. Subtle."

Lumiere smiled gallantly, bowed with a great flourish, and retreated. Chip stayed because he wanted to see what would happen next, which turned out to be Cogsworth roaring "LINENS!" from down the hall. He swallowed, grabbed the pile of tablecloths, and ran for the dining room.

Adam rolled his eyes a bit, asked Mrs. Potts to bring some wine for everyone, and motioned for Maurice to take the chair. Maurice shook his head. "Oh, no, that's your chair."

"Given what happened last time you visited, it would ease my mind greatly if you did me the honor of taking that chair." Adam was quite earnest, and Maurice did notice that Belle was a little more hopeful of sharing the loveseat with Adam. Maurice smiled, nodded, and sat as Mrs. Potts arrived with wine and glasses and began to pour. Adam smiled at her. "And do be sure to take some for yourself as well, Potts, it's the least I could do after treating you so poorly for so long."

Mrs Potts was mildly shocked. "Oh now really, Master Adam, you don't need to I mean it's irregular and unnecessary to I really shouldn't but after all if you insist!" She filled the glasses merrily, as if she'd already had some, and flew off with the bottle in hand.

Adam, still standing, tentatively raised his glass to Belle and Maurice. "I really don't know what to say, except to give you my deepest gratitude for believing in me even when I gave you every reason not to." They all drank, and then Adam drank a little bit more and took a deep breath. "I guess a little explanation is in order."


End file.
